
Selling a House with a Tax Lien
A home seller has several options for selling a house with delinquent taxes. He or she can contest the delinquent taxes or apply for a certificate of discharge with the IRS. He or she can also pay off the delinquent taxes before selling the house or at closing.

Contesting the Delinquent Taxes with the IRS
A home seller can contest the owed property taxes if he or she can prove they don’t belong to him or her or the home seller has already cleared the tax debt. The home seller should work with
For instance, assuming the tax lien was filed against the house mistakenly. The attorney can obtain the necessary evidence to prove that the delinquent tax was incurred by another person with a similar name and
Applying for a Certificate of Discharge with the IRS
A certificate of discharge lifts the lien from a house to enable the home seller to sell it, but it doesn’t exempt him or her from the delinquent tax. The seller must submit those taxes to the IRS. Otherwise, the IRS can seize his or her other personal assets or properties to satisfy the tax lien.
Paying Off the Tax Debt Before Selling the House
Paying the tax debt back to the IRS or other government authorities before listing a home for sale is another great option for selling a house with outstanding property taxes. Home sellers who don’t have enough savings to pay the debt off can look for other financing options, such as a home equity line of credit (HELOC).
Paying Back the Tax Debt at Closing
Another option for selling a home with a lien is to use the home sale proceeds to pay off the lien amount. The closing attorney will oversee the transfer of the money to make sure